Heather in Neverland Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Please fill in the blank. :) He really likes the outer space theme. Any ideas? He is my reluctant reader so it has to really grab him. Are the rest of the books in the series worth reading? P.s. he also read "The Hunger Games" and said "Ender's Game" was MUCH better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plath Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The rest of the books in the series are good, but quite a bit different. I found them more difficult to get through (and I flew through Ender's Game). Maybe: Songmaster by Card Ender's Shadow is good. It's a companion book set at the same time as Ender's Game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Oh yes, anything by Card is better than the Hunger Games. :) There are two others by him about the same characters called "First Meetings" and "The War of Gifts" which come before or during Ender's Game. The rest of the Ender series was interesting but I haven't finished....I lost focus or ran out of time. I also really like Sanderson for science/fantasy with a psychological twist. His book "Elantris" was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Has he read Artemis Fowl? Not space-themed but a good series. The Star Wars books by Timothy Zahn . . . Heir to the Empire, I think. It's a trilogy that takes place after Return of the Jedi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I read Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles at about the same time as Ender's Game, and I think it has a similar feel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Robert sawyer wrote a dinosaurs getting into space series. I ow it sounds lame when I write it out, but it's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Powermaniac7 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I highly recommend the Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov. He is known as one of the greatest Science Fiction writers of all time. Excerpt from Wikipedia: " Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.[3]" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The same author of Hunger Games wrote a series called the Underland Chronicles. I enjoyed them much more than Hunger Games. it's about this boy who falls through a grate in an apartment laundry room and finds himself in a hidden underland. The animals he encounters like rats, bats and spiders are huge. He meets a human race that is used to living in darkness. The rats are intelligent and talk, I think I remember. It's a fantasy series, with an epic journey situation, but I thought it was well written with a good story line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The same author of Hunger Games wrote a series called the Underland Chronicles. I enjoyed them much more than Hunger Games. it's about this boy who falls through a grate in an apartment laundry room and finds himself in a hidden underland. The animals he encounters like rats, bats and spiders are huge. He meets a human race that is used to living in darkness. The rats are intelligent and talk, I think I remember. It's a fantasy series, with an epic journey situation, but I thought it was well written with a good story line. Gregor is my favorite character of hers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 He would likely really like the book Ender's Shadow. After that the books are very different. The athor has a very detailed website: http://www.hatrack.com/. You can read the first chapter of most of his books. It's worth taking a look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 if he loved ender's game, did he read "speaker for the dead, xenocide, or children of the mind, that follow it? (there is one more that was recently released I haven't read.) ender's game is fun to their cerebral and more in depth (and much more sci-fi) plots. (speaker introduces "jane". my most favorite character OSC developed for the ender books.) ds' really liked the ender's shadow series of books as well. ds liked pathfinders better than ender's game. the wheel of time lord of the rings vorkosigan by lois mcmaster-bujoled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Tripods trilogy by John Christopher Shade's Children by Garth Nix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsidian Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The Ender's Shadow series definitely has a similar feel to Ender's Game. I personally also enjoyed the rest of the Ender's Game series. The Foundation series by Asimov is very good as well. I would also recommend Robert Heinlein; he has quite a few books involving space travel/living in space (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorites). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 DH suggested the Pip and Flinx novels by Alan Dean Foster. Apparently my eldest is really enjoying these right now but she's at camp so I'll take his word for it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I will second Bujold's Vorkosigan series. Also Timothy Zahn's Dragonback series (starts with Dragon and Thief) and Quadrail series (starts with Night Train to Rigel) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 This one is an older science ficition book. But I highly recommend it! It is the book that got me into science fiction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chrysalids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 DH recommends Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap Cycle series, which starts with The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story. (He did add that he wouldn't give it to a preteen, as there are adult situations.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 A warning about Donaldson's Gap cycle - it is dark and disturbing and full of rape, violence and abuse. The farther along in the series you go, the darker and more grim it gets. Donaldson definitely wrote these for adults. Excellent writing, but oh-so-very dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 This one is an older science ficition book. But I highly recommend it! It is the book that got me into science fiction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chrysalids Ds enjoyed Day of the Triffids by the same author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I suggest Robert Heinlein's juvenile and young adult fiction: Rocket Ship Galileo, 1947 Space Cadet, 1948 Red Planet, 1949 Between Planets, 1951 The Rolling Stones aka Space Family Stone, 1952 Farmer in the Sky, 1953 Starman Jones, 1953 The Star Beast, 1954 Tunnel in the Sky, 1955 Time for the Stars, 1956 Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957 Have Space Suit—Will Travel, 1958 Also, Podkayne of Mars, Starship Troopers and, perhaps, The Moon is a Harsh Mistriess and The Puppet Masters (I will warn you, in that one everyone is naked by the end, though for completely innocent reasons). Other things by Card might go over well, perhaps his short story series The Folk of the Fringe or the Earth's Children series, along with the other Ender books already mentioned. Short fiction by Asimov and Heinlein might also appeal to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 A warning about Donaldson's Gap cycle - it is dark and disturbing and full of rape, violence and abuse. The farther along in the series you go, the darker and more grim it gets. Donaldson definitely wrote these for adults. Excellent writing, but oh-so-very dark. Sorry! I didn't realize that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The most comparable would be Ender's Shadow, basically Ender's Game but narrated by Bean from his POV. If he likes that there's a series following Bean and the other kids during the creation of a world hegemony. The Ender's series gets really philosophical. It probably wouldn't be as fun. Space ones: some of Heinlein's juveniles...Tunnel in the Sky, Starship Troopers, Have Spaceship Will Travel, Space Cadet. Most of these follow a young man through space adventures, lots of concepts in government, sociology, self-reliance. Not space ones: The Mysterious Benedict Society (4 exceptional children pass the test to be in a secret society and work to save the world from domination) The Book of Lost Things (boy enters a world of alternate fairy tales) Harry Potter (exceptional children go to a school for wizards and battle evil) Gregor the Overlander (boy finds an underworld in need of help) The Giver (in an alternate city a boy finds he has a genetic gift that is used for a strange purpose) Jurassic Park (action packed return of dinosaurs) World War Z (action packed zombies take over the world done as an oral history ala Studs Terkel) The Graveyard Book (boy is raised by inhabitants of a graveyard) Neverwhere (young man is inducted into a strange and dangerous world below ground) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plath Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I suggest Robert Heinlein's juvenile and young adult fiction: Rocket Ship Galileo, 1947 Space Cadet, 1948 Red Planet, 1949 Between Planets, 1951 The Rolling Stones aka Space Family Stone, 1952 Farmer in the Sky, 1953 Starman Jones, 1953 The Star Beast, 1954 Tunnel in the Sky, 1955 Time for the Stars, 1956 Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957 Have Space Suit—Will Travel, 1958 Also, Podkayne of Mars, Starship Troopers and, perhaps, The Moon is a Harsh Mistriess and The Puppet Masters (I will warn you, in that one everyone is naked by the end, though for completely innocent reasons). Other things by Card might go over well, perhaps his short story series The Folk of the Fringe or the Earth's Children series, along with the other Ender books already mentioned. Short fiction by Asimov and Heinlein might also appeal to him. Once you get past the first book of the Earth's Children series, there is a LOT of sex in them. Just an FYI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 The first couple of books in David Fentuch's Hope saga (loosely based on Horatio Hornblower), starting with Midshipman's Hope. Like Ender's Game, young protagonist having to make very, very difficult life and death decisions with serious consequences. I like the first 3 or so books best-after that, they start being more a route for the author to share his philosophy. Very, very similar in a lot of ways to Ender's game (including becoming more philosophical as the series progresses). One thing that I think is neat for homeschooled kids is that public education has been dropped in favor of non-mandatory private education and homeschooling and the protagonist was homeschooled until entering the Naval academy (albeit much younger than Midshipmen enter today). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Once you get past the first book of the Earth's Children series, there is a LOT of sex in them. Just an FYI. I do not remember there being much in the way of graphic sex in that series (or sex at all), it's been quite a few years since I read it. I mostly remember how incredibly allegorical it was with respect to the Book of Mormon (which I read several years after reading Card's series). But then, I don't tend to consider sex in a narrative not focused unduly on it inappropriate reading for a 15yo. YMMV, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plath Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 IMHO the sex was kind of gratuitous. And I'm not usually even concerned about it at all. It was just very surprising.. I just read them over the winter. Not that I didn't consider them worthy reads, just something to think about :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Love, love, love, LOVE anything by Orson Scott Card. And he's written a ton. Also explore the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett and Good Omens (Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 I agree with a lot of what has already been suggested-Starship Troopers, Good Omens, World War Z, other Neal Gaiman books like Stardust and Neverwhere, The Left Hand of Darkness by Usula LeGuin, Douglas Adams for a more comedic sci-fi break, Asminov, Ray Bradbury, etc. Has he read the Pern books by Anne McCaffrey? Lots of teens like those. And there is sex, but it isn't vey graphic. I let my teen girls read them. I think of lot of those mentioned in the thread are a bit young (like Artemis Fowl), they are enjoyable, but a warning that many like that are children's books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted July 1, 2013 Author Share Posted July 1, 2013 Oh, these are all so good! I have a huge list now! I think I am going to get him Ender's Shadow to start since he is so revved up on Ender's Game, then eat him explore this list from there. Thank you so much!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.